A planned liquefied natural gas export terminal in Port Arthur could ensure a continuing supply of local industrial construction jobs into the next decade if the company receives regulatory approval and proceeds with funding the project.

By the time Sempra qualifies for all of its permits and its board authorizes the investment, current projects like Cheniere Energy and Golden Pass LNG would be done or close to completion.

Other major projects like Natgasoline and ExxonMobil's polyethylene expansion also could be completed, meaning skilled workers in the standard crafts could migrate to the area along Texas 87 south of the Valero Energy refinery in Port Arthur.

A shovel isn't likely to turn any dirt on the Sempra project until possibly 2019, said Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick.

If the permits come in from federal and state agencies, the project could employ about 2,000 industrial construction workers and later employ "several hundred" full-time workers in white-collar and operator jobs, Branick said.

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Sempra would invest "multi-billions" of dollars in the site, Branick said, though the San Diego-based company hasn't announced a specific amount.

Cheniere and Golden Pass invested tens of billions to build what started as import terminals, but Cheniere is now exporting LNG, and Golden Pass also wants to retrofit for the export market driven by domestic gas production shale fields.

"The prospect (of a Sempra LNG terminal) has been with us for a while," he said. "It's nicely sequenced."

Two large projects are under way in Baytown - ExxonMobil Baytown and Chevron-Phillips, he said.

They will be finished by the time Sempra secures its permits, he said.

"We exchange workers who go there," he said. "It goes both ways."

The same can be said for local workers who travel to Lake Charles for the Sasol North America petrochemical expansion, also under construction.

"We've not had a project collision here, so it makes the issue simpler," Durkay said.

While an LNG project sounds exotic, it doesn't require more than what locally skilled workers can provide in various crafts such as welding, pipe fitting, boiler making, carpentry and electrical, Durkay said.

Sempra filed a separate application to build pipelines to bring natural gas to the site, south of the Intracoastal Waterway bridge on its west bank.

A few miles of Texas 87 will have to be relocated to accommodate the creation of a dock for LNG carriers.

Branick said Entergy relocated its transmission lines a quarter-mile inland after Hurricane Ike in anticipation of Sempra's development and the need for a re-routed Texas 87.

LNG carriers also need deeper water than what the current ship channel provides, Branick said.

The Sabine-Neches channel is authorized for a depth of 48 feet from its existing 40 feet, but though it is included in a renewed water resources act signed by President Obama, Congress still needs to fund it.

In its prepared statement, Sempra said, " Ongoing development of the project is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and remains contingent upon completing required commercial agreements, acquiring all necessary permits and approvals, securing financing commitments, potential incentives and satisfying other conditions before making a final investment decision to proceed."

Sempra and Woodside Energy signed a project development agreement in February to share development costs, technical design, permitting and marketing of the proposed liquefaction project.

The FERC application for the proposed project includes:

- Two natural gas liquefaction trains capable of producing about 13.5 million metric tons per year, or about 698 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year.